The Appeal of Evil

There is something about evil that is attractive. As I was watching The Chronicles of Narnia this weekend I noticed that the Ice Queen was a fairly attractive woman, except for that crazy hair-do. It brought back to my remembrance an interview that I saw with Mel Gibson around the the time that The Passion of the Christ came out. He said that he wanted to personify evil, but he did not feel it was right to portray evil as a hideous, ugly, distorted figure. Instead he chose an attractive woman to personify evil in the movie. You can seed the pictures of both women here (the Ice Queen on the left and Satan from The Passion on the right).

What Gibson is quite true. Evil is so enticing. It is so attractive. Whether it is porn, sex, drugs, or whatever, evil draws us in. If evil looked awful and horrible, no one would be attracted to it.

In Genesis 3, we read, "When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it" (Genesis 3:6a).

Don't allow evil to entice you, and draw you away from God.

Haunted by Past Words

Have you ever been haunted by something you said or wrote?

I was transferring some files on my computer the other day. I ran across some of the files from ministerial education. One of those was a final exam that I had typed. I am not sure what the question was, but it had something to do with a call to ministry. Here is the answer:
The “call” to ministry is what sustains a pastor during the tough times. It is what separates the pastors who hang in and those that decide to go a different direction in their career. Ministry is not so much a career choice. If one is not truly called it will be difficult to sustain a thriving ministry over a long period. When a ministry is thriving there will be a certain amount of controversy and rough times. Those who are truly called will have the call to lean on when times get tough.

As I have struggled with my call to the ministry over the last 9-12 months, these words have haunted me. The sentence, "If one is not truly called..." cuts. Was I not called? I know for sure that I was called. What is happening now?

When I was sitting in classes taking in and spouting out ministerial theory, these things seemed easy. The reality is theory is great when things are going well, but theory goes out the window when things go bad. We can make bold predictions about how we will handle adversity when we are sitting in a safe classroom. When the slings and arrows are flying in trenches, those predictions are useless.

This is Disturbing

Words escape me.

Lame Excuses

Last night I watched a half-hour documentary that disturbed me greatly. You can view it by clicking here. Scroll down to "Watch Documentary," click on "Part 1."

As I listened to the excuses that most farmers and politicians gave, I could not help but think back to what I had read in the history books. They talked about how this was "a way of life." They brought up that it would "cost too much." They said that the conditions were better than what they had "where they came from."

Those thin excuses sound very similar to the excuses that people once used to rationalize the enslavement of blacks.

Migrant workers are people who need dignity and respect. They deserve clean living conditions. No on is saying it has to be the Ritz, but it should be fit for human inhabitation. It is despicable that our fellow man considers our fellow man of a different color to be something less than human.

My Mom

Mother's Day was last Sunday, and we celebrated with my mother.

My mom has been a powerful influence in my life. She has pushed and prodded me my whole life. When ever I would get a bad grade in school, she would simply say, "Son, you know you can do better." Oh, that would cut me to the heart. And, I knew I could do better.

She worked her tail off for the family. She provided. She had fun.

Tonight, my mom is being recognized for something grand. She is receiving her GED. Her parents thought in only necessary for girls to have an 8th grade education, so that's all she received. For someone with only an 8th grade education, she did very well. Last year, she started working toward her GED, after a mere 55 years after finishing the 8th grade. She got done in a little over 8 months.

For that I am proud as can be.

Observations about School Lunch

I have a few observations from our trek today to eat lunch with our first grader:

School lunches are just as awful as when I was in school. The food is terrible. They cook stuff that the kids don't eat.

Starch is the name of the game. I consumed some fish-like substance that was breaded. It was in a bun. And I had French fries. It definitely isn't Atkins-friendly.

In the absence of starch, there is grease. (We used to call the school hamburger "grease bombs.") One of the choices today was hot dogs with chili. (What kid eats chili dogs?) As I glanced through the sneeze guard I saw a grease puddle in the "chili" that made the Exxon Valdez look like nothing.

Most of the kids pitched at least half their food.

On another note: The "Teacher of the Year" parking space was vacant, which makes me wonder why he or she was gone.

Jerry Falwell Dead at 73, RIP

Jerry Falwell, died yesterday at the age of 73. I am not a fan of his. He was a divisive figure.

That said, I hope he finds rest and peace in the arms of Jesus.

Another article from Fox News talks about how he was at peace with his life and eventual death. That really is the only thing we can hope to have at such a hour: peace.

Jerry Falwell, rest in peace.

Do Nothing People

In the finale of Seinfeld, Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer were jailed for doing nothing while witnessing a carjacking in some sleepy New England town. Recently a group of bystanders outside a Detroit liquor store stood by as a 91-year-old World War II veteran was beaten and carjacked. Here is the story.

This is a sad commentary on the state of society. I think it applies to the church as well. Too many churches are in the same boat. They sit and watch as a hurting world starves, is enslaved, and robbed.

If there were a surveillance camera on our world, we would see churches standing idly by watching the world suffer.

Wake up, church. Get involved.

The Finish Line

It's the end of the semester, almost. I have one more day of finals. This semester has been somewhat trying. My biggest frustration is the lack of motivation on the part of the students. It seems that they lose focus at the end of the semester. Many students who are on the border of "Pass/Fail Land" seem to be coasting to the finish line, and many will not make it. I had a number of students who should have been A or B students, but will sit through the class again because of being motivationally challenged.

Well, now it's a couple weeks off before summer school. At least summer school is only Monday through Thursday.

NBC: The American Idol Network:

I have never been a fan of the show "American Idol." This past season became the first time I actually watched more than a 30 seconds. I don't understand why it's so popular.

There is one thing that puzzles me though. Which network is it on? I know it's on FOX, but if you watch anything on NBC, you would swear that it's on NBC. Last night (5/3/07), two former "Idol" contestants were on Jay Leno, and Randy (one of the judges) was on Conan O'Brien. It seems to be that NBC hypes "American Idol" even more than FOX does. I hope NBC is getting some advertising revenue from FOX.

Empowered by God

My fellow blogger wrote about how God spoke through him to various people in a recent sermon. I won't retell it; you should read it.

It is a true story of God empowering a communicator. I have experienced the same thing. I have preached sermons that I thought were junk, but God used them in powerful ways. I have delivered sermons that I thought were great examples of oratory perfection that fell with a huge thud.

Another way that God has empowered me is through the fact that I have never been a good public speaker. I have always hated public speaking. In school given the choice between an oral report and a written paper, I would always choose a written paper. I even took speech class in college to try to overcome my fear of public speaking, to no avail.

The only thing I can chalk it up to is God's power filling my life. There is a cliche that goes: "God doesn't call the equipped, he equips the called." It is awesome to God empower someone to do his work.

Am I crazy?

I hope the answer is "no."

For some time, I have been struggling with what God wants me to do. It has been for the better part of a year now. I do not feel that God is calling me to move at this time. Ministry opportunities are limited to pretty much volunteer.

I am seriously considering going back to school to my master's degree in history. It is to the point where I am about to go buy a book to study for the GRE exam.

It will take me some time, as I will have to continue to work. The local university does not offer on-line classes or summer classes (except for Thesis).

I am a little worried about the workload. I am a slow reader.